The Magic Competition Begins

The days in July and August seemed especially long.

After parting with Ding Yumian, it was already seven in the evening, yet the dusky yellow hanging at the edge of the sky had only just deepened a little.

There seemed to be an unusual number of surprises today. From the Zhilan Team group chat, Bai Mo learned that Mei Qian had actually broken through to the Mid-Level.

It seemed she had made very good use of that forty-million bounty.

Still, if that was the case, wouldn't next semester's Magic Competition just be them going in to stomp everyone?

But when Bai Mo sat in a school classroom in September, after the other classmates had already gone home in the evening, and listened together with Zhou Tianyuan, Zhao Qingying, and Mei Qian as their homeroom teacher, Su Ning, analyzed the other schools' teams and explained the competition format, he no longer felt like they were going there to stomp small fry.

"...The others aren't worth worrying about. You only need to pay attention to Pearl Affiliated Middle School and Songjiang Experimental. According to the school's investigation, both of these schools have mages capable of casting Mid-Level Magic, and Pearl Affiliated Middle School has three participating members at Mid-Level cultivation!"

After Su Ning finished, her gaze swept over Zhou Tianyuan. Good. His expression was solemn, his face tense.

Nodding in satisfaction, her gaze moved to the next student, Zhao Qingying.

Not bad. Her eyes were clouded, her face shrouded in mist; clearly, she had taken it to heart, listened properly, and understood the importance of her words.

Continuing down the line, this was their school's top student this year, Mei Qian. As for Bai Mo, he had skipped too many classes and had been reported.

But after seeing Mei Qian's expression clearly, Su Ning's brows furrowed slightly.

Mei Qian's somewhat gentle and graceful face was calm as usual, but Su Ning still noticed a trace of worry between her brows.

Only then did Su Ning nod in satisfaction. That was more like it. A suitable amount of tension helped one enter a better combat state.

Her gaze continued downward and turned toward the team's main force, Bai Mo.

In an instant, the smile on Su Ning's face vanished. This student was also looking at her, his face carrying an expression of scrutiny, curiosity, and amusement.

It was as if he had just been observing her and found her performance interesting and fun!

A little awkwardness appeared on Su Ning's face. She coughed twice before continuing:

"Next, I'll explain the Rules of the competition to you. Modu has one hundred and thirty-six Magic High Schools participating. The competition format has only three rounds."

After a pause, seeing that the students' gazes were all on her and that they were clearly listening seriously, Su Ning continued:

"The first round is the qualifying round. The competition officials will organize each school's student team to fight a Servant Level demon beast. Only by winning will you qualify for the next round."

"The second round is the regional elimination round. Only by taking first place in your region can you advance to the next round. If only one school from that region enters the second round, it will automatically advance."

"Of course, if no school from that region advances, then all of them are eliminated. This situation is extremely rare."

After speaking, Su Ning added, "There are no opponents worth noting in our Qingyuan District."

Hearing this, Bai Mo and the other three all remained calm. This was only natural; there was nothing to be happy about.

Su Ning continued speaking.

"The qualifying round starts tomorrow, at the nearby Meihua Doyaoguan. The regional elimination round begins on the third day after the qualifying round ends, with two matches a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Opponents will be decided by drawing lots, and the winner advances to the next round."

"After each region's first-place team is decided, the third-round confrontation matches will be held on the fifteenth of this month."

When she reached the key point, Su Ning's expression also grew solemn. This competition concerned the school's future funding, so she had no choice but to act a little more serious.

"The confrontation matches will also use random draws, the same as the regional elimination round. The winner advances, and the loser is eliminated."

After Su Ning finished, she looked at the strange expressions on the four people sitting below and said, "Do you feel like the competition format is too simple?"

"Yes," Zhao Qingying nodded.

"A competition between students who are, at most, newly entered into the Mid-Level was never going to draw much attention. This competition is mainly meant for training purposes, so don't go thinking that taking first place will make you famous throughout Modu."

Su Ning smiled and said, "Aside from the judges, teachers, and contestants, there won't be any other spectators at the venue when the time comes. Do you have any other questions?"

"Teacher Su, during the competition, we won't have to attend classes at school, right?"

Hearing Bai Mo's question, Su Ning said in annoyance, "That's all you care about?"

"I only joined this competition because I heard senior-year review was dull and boring. Teacher Su, you don't actually think I'm doing this for those rewards, do you?"

"You'd better not be!"

Su Ning rolled her eyes, but still answered the question. "During the competition, you'll still need to attend class in the classroom during your free time. But if you get first place, that means Pearl Institute has accepted you, so whether you come to class or not will be up to you."

After speaking, she swept an expectant gaze over the other three. "Any other questions?"

"No, Teacher Su. We discussed the competition before," Mei Qian said. "I think Bai Mo is right. We just need to keep winning."

Su Ning: .

She felt rather helpless. When her students were too outstanding, she, as the teacher, had no sense of achievement at all.

The next day, Qingyuan District's Meihua Doyaoguan.

Under Su Ning's lead, Bai Mo and the other three had arrived early in the waiting hall.

The teams from the other eight high schools in Qingyuan District were also here.

Bai Mo and Zhou Tianyuan were both very familiar with places like a doyaoguan, so both of them looked relaxed.

Mei Qian and Zhao Qingying, on the other hand, had never been to one before. Affected by the atmosphere in the waiting room, their expressions were slightly tense.

Soon, the Fangcao High School team that had gone in to fight the demon came out. Their team had five people, and though every one of them looked a little pale, they all wore smiles.

Clearly, they had successfully defeated the demon.

The demons were all chosen at random from the ones kept in the Beast Fighting Hall, so there really were no targeted countermeasures to prepare.

The Fangcao team did not linger. After saying hello, they left.

Still, they had set a good precedent for the other teams, and the tense atmosphere indoors eased quite a bit.

Bai Mo and the others were second. He felt that once they came out, the atmosphere that had relaxed a little would become even more relaxed.

Strategically speaking, Bai Mo looked down on every opponent taking part in the competition, but tactically, he still took it very seriously.

So, against a mere Giant-eyed Stinky Rat, all four members of Lanzhi High School went onto the field.

"You guys handle it," Bai Mo said to the three beside him.

"Okay!" Zhao Qingying nodded, and her figure had already turned into a gust of wind as she took her place at the very front.

Bait

Zhou Tianyuan's Water Defense had already settled over her, and beside him, purple lightning was already flickering in Mei Qian's hand. Looking closely—

Within the strands of lightning were wisps of cyan.

This lightning was no ordinary lightning!

He had to admit, Mei Qian really was willing to spend money.

Bai Mo had heard that as soon as she broke through, she went to Zhao Qingying and, through the Zhao Family's auction, obtained a Lightning Spirit Seed.

It was said to be called Cyan Thunder, and it could enhance the sustained power of some Lightning Element magic.

Zhao Qingying had already drawn the Giant-eyed Stinky Rat's hatred. With a sharp turn, she exposed the demon behind her within Mei Qian's attack range.

"Anger Strike!" Electric arcs danced over Mei Qian's body, purple light flared from her hand, and whips of lightning lashed toward the Giant-eyed Stinky Rat one after another.

In just a few snaps of the fingers, violent thunder had covered the Giant-eyed Stinky Rat's entire body.

The battle ended, and the four of them walked out of the Arena.

Congratulations came from all around them, but the atmosphere did not become relaxed.

After listening in for a bit, Bai Mo realized that these people all knew their school's strength.

In short, his judgment had been wrong. He had not seen what he wanted to see, and Bai Mo shook his head regretfully.

They returned to school together with Su Ning. By then, it was already past noon.

As soon as Su Ning got back to school, he left. Bai Mo, Zhou Tianyuan, and the others exchanged glances.

"Afternoon is practical combat drill class. I'm going out for a stroll. Tianyuan, tell Old Xu for me," Bai Mo said, then turned and headed out of the school.

"Okay." Zhou Tianyuan nodded.

The magic college entrance exam had both theory and practice, so in their senior year, they generally reviewed the theoretical knowledge they had learned over the first two years in the morning, and practiced real combat in the afternoon.

As for their practical combat targets?

Most of the time, it was Wooden Dummy Teacher, or Wooden Disc Instructor, which could fly and move.

A small portion of the time, practical class teacher Xu Qi would personally step in.

So this was a good chance for Bai Mo to go out and train his Mental Power. It definitely was not because he wanted to go try some newly opened snack shop outside the school.

Once Bai Mo left, Zhou Tianyuan left too. The three of them would be training that afternoon and had already made an appointment with a teacher.

As for notifying him...

Teacher Xu's eyesight was not very good (crossed out). Teacher Xu understood the bigger picture and knew what they were doing.